Home > William Gascoigne

He was a descendant of an ancient Yorkshire family. The date of his birth is uncertain, but it appears from the year-books that he practised as an advocate in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. When Henry of Lancaster was banished by Richard II, Gascoigne was appointed one of his attorneys, and soon after Henry's accession to the throne was made chief justice of the court of King's Bench. After the suppression of the rising in the north in 1405, Henry eagerly pressed the chief justice to pronounce sentence upon Lord Scrope , the Archbishop of York, and the Earl Marshal Thomas Mowbray, who had been implicated in the revolt. This he absolutely refused to do, asserting the right of the prisoners to be tried by their peers. Although both were later executed, the chief justice had no part in this. It has been doubted whether Gascoigne could have displayed such independence of action without prompt punishment or removal from office.

The popular tale of his committing the Prince of Wales (the future Henry V) to prison must also be regarded as unauthentic, though it is both picturesque and characteristic. It is said that the judge had directed the punishment of one of the prince's riotous companions, and the prince, who was present and enraged at the sentence, struck or grossly insulted the judge. Gascoigne immediately committed him to prison, and gave the prince a dressing-down that caused him to acknowledge the justice of the sentence. The king is said to have approved of the act, but it appears that Gascoigne was removed from his post or resigned soon after the accession of Henry VHenry V ( August 9 or September 16, 1387 August 31, 1422), King of England, son of Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, was born at Monmouth, Wales, in September 1387. On his father's exile in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge, and treate. He died in 1419, and was buried in the parish church of HarewoodHarewood (pronounced 'Harwood') is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, south of Harrogate. It is mainly known for its vicinity to Harewood House, a stately home, and to Harewood Castle. Villages in West Yorkshire. in Yorkshire. Some biographies of the judge have stated that he died in 1412, but this is disproved by Edward FossEdward Foss ( October 16, 1787 July 27, 1870) was an English lawyer and biographer. He was born in London. He became a solicitor, and on his retirement from practice in 1840, devoted himself to the study of legal antiquities. His Judges of England (9 vols in his Lives of the Judges ; and although it is clear that Gascoigne did not hold office long under Henry VHenry V ( August 9 or September 16, 1387 August 31, 1422), King of England, son of Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, was born at Monmouth, Wales, in September 1387. On his father's exile in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge, and treate, it is not impossible that the scene in the fifth act of the second part of Shakespeare'sWilliam Shakespeare born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 ( O. May 3, 1616 ( N. has a reputation as the greatest writer the English language has ever known. Indeed, the English Renaissance has often been called "the age of Shakespe Henry VHenry V is a play by William Shakespeare based on the life of King Henry V of England. It deals only with the events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years War. It is important to note that the play was one of a seri has some historical basis, and that the judge's resignation was voluntary.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica